Police staffing hits level needed for federal grant

STOCKTON - Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones announced Tuesday that his department had finally achieved staffing levels necessary to access a federal grant that will allow him to add reinforcements in the city's fight against crime.

STOCKTON - Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones announced Tuesday that his department had finally achieved staffing levels necessary to access a federal grant that will allow him to add reinforcements in the city's fight against crime.

Calling it a "monumental day" for the city, Jones stepped to the podium to introduce nine new hires during a swearing-in ceremony in the Community Room on the second floor of the Police Department. Jones swore in two new officers and announced the hiring of seven others who are joining the department as police officer recruits and trainees.

The new hires gave the department a total of 346 officers, exceeding the number of officers needed to activate a $7.8 million federal grant that will fund 17 new officers over a period of three years, Jones said. The Police Department received the Community Oriented Policing Services grant from the U.S. Department of Justice in 2011, but until now the department has been unable to reach the budgeted number of 344 officers required to access the grant money.

"For two years, we've struggled with reaching that number," Jones said. "It's been a barrier for us, but today we've leapt over that barrier."

Rust, a 2010 graduate of the San Joaquin Delta College Police Academy, is joining the Police Department after working as a deputy with the Kern County Sheriff's Department. Rust grew up in Jackson, where he attended Argonaut High School, and is the younger brother of Stockton police Officer Ty Rust.

Saechao graduated from the Fresno City College Police Academy in 2012. He earned a degree in criminal justice from Merced College.

Brian Rust said he was eager to work in Stockton, which set city records for homicides in 2011 and 2012.

"I've heard that one year here is like five years in any other department, so I'm going to learn a lot faster and have an opportunity to impact the community a little bit more," he said.

Jones also announced that the Police Department had secured state funding for two additional officers, bringing the department's authorized staff level to 363. Recruiters found it difficult to reach the target number of 344 over the past two years as officers left the department due to budget cuts and other factors, but Jones said he is no longer seeing the same rate of attrition.

"I think it's a combination of a number of factors," Jones said. "It could be that those who wanted to leave have already left. There are still some officers that are leaving, but I think it's slowed down because of the perceived sense of stability here in the Stockton Police Department, and I think that's what officers are looking for."